Parents are set to splash out hundreds of pounds on tutors to help their children pass exams after the pandemic disrupted their education, new research has revealed.
Some 59 per cent of parents are currently using or considering using a tutor – many for up to 12 hours a week, according to data from online tutor provider Tutorful.
It found parents were willing to spend up to £41 an hour to help their children catch up, after schools were forced to shut for large parts of the last year.
Mark Hughes, CEO and Founder of Tutorful, said: ‘Since the pandemic, we have seen a 400 per cent increase in tutoring lessons to help with lost time on education.
Parents are estimated to splash out hundreds of pounds on tutors over the next school year
‘With 2022 expected to go back to the pre-Covid examination process, the pressure is on to help children catch up.’
Another tutoring firm, MyTutor, said it had seen a 170 per cent increase in tutees and a shift in attitudes towards private tutoring.
Its data found that 48 per cent of Britons used to think tutoring was unnecessary, but now see it as more valuable.
Nearly half (44 per cent) of parents who had used tutors said they would continue to use online tutoring post-pandemic.
For parents wondering why they may not have heard much talk about tutors among their peers, MyTutor found that while plenty are using them, many feel uneasy about admitting it.
Previous national data commissioned by the tutoring firm pre-pandemic revealed that a third of parents who hired a tutor to help their child with their school work kept it a secret.
A further one in four confessed that if directly asked about it, they would rather lie than admit to doing so.
MyTutor said the benefits of private tutoring now not only include providing exam support, but also one on one personal interaction which ensures students are no longer lost in a sea of faces on a zoom call.
So could you become a tutor? This is Money, with the help of two tutoring firms, investigates what qualifications you might need and how much you could make.
‘I enjoyed tutoring so much it became my main business’
Mark Hemmings started making money from Tutorful in January 2020
Mark Hemmings, a tutor from Stoke-on-Trent, started making money from Tutorful in January 2020 and now makes £2,000 to £2,500 per month.
He said: ‘I started tutoring initially to help the children of parents who had asked me if I would tutor them. After this, I enjoyed it so much I developed it into my main business.’
The 60 year old spent 15 years as a classroom teacher before becoming a self-employed maths tutor.
‘I charge £25 per hour but if a parent uses me for a second child’s tuition I would reduce this to £20 per hour.
‘Depending on the run-up to exams and after exam season is over, teaching hours vary from 10 to 35 hours a week.’
Mark revealed that maths tuition is in demand for most of the academic year, due to there being mock exams as well as the main exams.
He said that if tutors are willing to work evenings and weekends, when the students are available, then it is possible to tutor full-time.
‘It also helps to build your business when you are recommended by parents when their children have achieved or exceeded their target grade,’ Hemmings added.
What qualifications do you need to become a tutor?
The qualifications a tutor needs will depend on what they are going to teach, and which age group they are going to teach.
Those hoping to get business by signing up to a tutoring agency will find that these companies also have their own specific requirements.
For example, Tutorful said it received a large number of tutor applications every week, and therefore has several conditions each tutor needs to fulfil to ensure it only works with the best tutors.
This includes having at least two years of formal tutoring or teaching experience, and experience of teaching online lessons in the past.
They need to have achieved an ‘A’ grade in the subject and level they are teaching, and to have studied it at least one level higher.
For example, to teach English GCSE they would need an A grade in that subject at GCSE, and to have studied English at A-level.
However, it might be flexible on the latter requirement depending on the subject and the level of experience the tutor has.
Tutorful interviews all of its tutors, with around 1 in 7 applicants being successful.
MyTutor only accepts tutors who have attended UK universities.
Tutors can make thousands depending on how much they charge & how often they teach
How much do tutors make?
MyTutor said tutors take home £18.50 per hour on average, but it ranges from £11 and £32.50 per tutorial depending on what price they charge.
This is the same for most firms, as tutors set their own fees.
What fees do tutoring firms take?
Again, the fees taken will depend on the website. Some do not charge any fees for use of their platform.
Tutorful said its tutors set their own hourly rate with the platform taking a fee that is ‘very competitive’ in the online tutoring market. However, it declined to comment on exactly how much this fee was.
It said its fee falls over time to reflect a tutor’s commitment, loyalty and hard work.
According to tutors who have used the platform online, tutors will pay 25 per cent of their earnings to Tutorful until they have taught 100 hours.
This then goes down to 20 per cent between 100 and 299 hours and 15 per cent afterwards.
The price per lesson is the price that the student – or their parent – pays. There are no hidden extras or additional fees for students.
On MyTutor, fees are dependent on how much the tutor charges per hour for their services.
It also varies depending on the tutor’s experience, and whether they join to tutor privately or through its schools programmes.
Can tutors work part time?
Yes, they can. Whilst some will make tutoring their full time job, others, including university students, can work part time as a tutor.
All of MyTutor’s users are from the top universities, so many are doing in addition to their studies.
It said it is very flexible, with tutors able to determine how much work they want to take on so it fits around university and other commitments.
Many websites will allow tutors to set the hours they want to work, and give them the flexibility to make money as and when they choose.
What tutoring websites are available?
There are a large number of tutoring websites available online. We take a look at some of the most popular.
People signing up to Tutorful can select the subjects they are interested in teaching and create a free profile.
Tutors can then choose who they wish to teach, how often they wish to tutor and also how much they will charge.
Once payments have been made, they will be deposited straight into the tutor’s bank account.
Meanwhile, MyTutor pays tutors up to £20 an hour, and is aimed specifically at giving jobs to university students.
To sign up, tutors will need to fill in an application form and book a video interview with one of the MyTutor team members.
After that, tutors can set their prices by choosing from seven bands ranging from £18 to £43 per hour.
Superprof is one of the most popular tutoring platforms, and has almost 16million tutors across the globe.
Prospective tutors sign up for free and publish their tutor advert, after which interested students will contact them.
Tutors can choose to accept or reject requests and, if they accept, they can swap contact details to either arrange to meet or start online tutoring.
As with many other sites, tutors set their own rates so it will be worth doing research to find out the going rate for that subject and level.
First Tutors allows tutors to not only set their own rates, but also keep 100 per cent of the money they earn from tutoring.
Tutors can also choose to teach online or face to face, depending on their preference.
To set up, people will have to submit two references as well as information for an ID check.
Tutors will be alerted by email when a student requests their services and will have to log in to respond. People are encouraged to keep on top of this, as if they ignore requests their profile could be suspended.